Ear Plugs - who rides with them?


sti491

Member
What did you say?..... Say again?

So after all my mods my bike is really loud. I like it a lot. But, I was noticing after some rides I'd have a bit of a headache. If we stopped for lunch or a beverage, I was kind of spacey and sometimes felt the affect of all that noise not hearing people at the table as well as normal. Kind of like how you feel after leaving a rock concert.

Then, I went to a track day prep session with my son. The instructor talked about ear plugs, highly recommending them for long term and short term hearing protection in street and track riding, and interestingly, for concentration when riding.

So I have been wearing both sponge and some custom made ear plugs I had made a few years go to combat my wife's snoring ;-) ... love you dear!

I have now switched to always wearing my custom ear plugs. I have to be a little careful putting on & taking off my helmet or it hurts sliding it on. But once on, they are super comfy. I can hear my Sena BT fine.

What a difference... I feel great after a ride and hear my lunch mates when we stop! Keep in mind I am 63 and everyone's hearing deteriorates over time, so I may be more sensitive to this than younger riders. But younger riders be aware.... I have many friends older than me, most in there late 60's & early 70's that most have to wear modern, very fancy and expensive hearing aids. They are a bit of a pain in the rump because they are always forgetting to put them in, losing them, getting the settings right, etc. So the longer you can preserve your hearing the better!

I highly recommend. Anyone else rocking ear plugs?
 
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NCGiant

New Member
I wear some No Noise plugs and they work pretty well. I'll probably be getting some customer molded ones because my ear canals are different sizes so one side doesn't plug up very well. Plugs are great for cutting the wind noise down and make my BT speakers so much clearer at speed.
 
I can’t bare to ride without them. Even over a short distance the wind noise is just way too much. There’s no way it’s not doing long term damage to your hearing. I just use cheap, disposable foamies I can get at work. Even with a high end Shoei helmet which is relatively quiet, it’s still way too loud to ride without them. Some believe they can be a safety hazard but I have no trouble hearing important things such as horns and sirens. They also make music played over my Sean Bluetooth communicator sound much better.

So, yes. It’s ear plugs all the time for me and always will be.
 

sti491

Member
My ears are different too


I wear some No Noise plugs and they work pretty well. I'll probably be getting some customer molded ones because my ear canals are different sizes so one side doesn't plug up very well. Plugs are great for cutting the wind noise down and make my BT speakers so much clearer at speed.
 

BzB

Member
i don't ride without earplugs. makes longer rides and even short ones so much better. i use the disposable foam ones. tried the custom fit ear plugs and those weren't as comfortable under my helmet nor did they block noise as well. ironically i have bluetooth speakers in my helmet, but even with the earplugs i can hear the music or calls pretty well while still blocking out the outside noise.

added plus...when i reach my destination i can actually hear what people are saying lol.

for those skeptical, give this a try, wear an earplug in one ear and take a ride. once you're done take that one out and see if you can tell a difference in hearing between your ears.
 

sti491

Member
I was wondering how many people used them! Not much posted about it. I think it's a way better experience!
 

TexanFZ6R

Senior Member
I didn't wear ear plugs for the first 3 months or so. Didn't bother me at all. Then I started wearing some of the cheap silicone ones from walmart

Never again will I ride without them. I tried once and got a headache after 5 minutes. They make it so much more enjoyable. The bike sounds great instead of obnoxious noise in your head. Wind noise is there but a non issue. I can hear my music or my dad on sena clearly. Can't go wrong with wearing them
 

MadMaxx

Member
A pair of axil reactors are my go-to but I shoot a lot so having an ear plug that blocks more when subjected to higher decibel sounds is useful for me, if it's just for riding some basic foam ones will do.
 

Chaos

Member
I pretty much always have one of my ear buds in. I dunno bout using plugs, I like to be able to hear whats going on around me.
 

MrFrzZ

New Member
I dunno bout using plugs, I like to be able to hear whats going on around me.
Honestly, you can still hear just about everything going on. Maybe even better to some degree. the plugs take some of the "sharpness" of the noise away. I can't hear my bike as far as the exhaust goes, but I can hear a sharper hum from it and I think it would allow me to hear if something was wrong or not. I can hear better on my Sena as well oddly enough too... Its weird... Give it a go for a few times and see what you think.
 

sti491

Member
As MrFz says, it's a strange phenomenon...with ear plugs you can hear a lot that would not expect to.

I pretty much always have one of my ear buds in. I dunno bout using plugs, I like to be able to hear whats going on around me.
 

Chaos

Member
When this stupid rain decides to move out and we get above 40 degrees I will see whats up
 

texas09fz6r

New Member
I rode in with them this morning for the first time. I really like the fact I don't have to hear the instrument cluster buzz/vibration at 6-7K rpm (just recently started after I switched windshields). Luckily a lot of the guys on this forum have a fix for that so it will not be an issue much longer. I was concerned the plugs would block out all noise but I could still hear birds chirping. It just takes away the annoying noises.

+1 for ear plugs!!!
 

sti491

Member
Glad it worked for you!

I rode in with them this morning for the first time. I really like the fact I don't have to hear the instrument cluster buzz/vibration at 6-7K rpm (just recently started after I switched windshields). Luckily a lot of the guys on this forum have a fix for that so it will not be an issue much longer. I was concerned the plugs would block out all noise but I could still hear birds chirping. It just takes away the annoying noises.

+1 for ear plugs!!!
 

Jyoumb

New Member
Did you ever try Mack's silicone plugs? They mould to your ears for a custom fit. For me, nothing works better.
 

Someoldguy

New Member
To each their own, but take it from a guy that is now 62 yrs. old WEAR EAR PROTECTION! Some days the Tinnitus drives me F'ing nuts and it's pretty much down to living and working in a loud environment. I use it now hoping to prevent further damage and like others have said it does not stop you hearing anything it just takes the sharp edge off. The disposable ones work great and you can even carry on a normal conversation, but really they take seconds to put in and take out. Those few seconds now can help, not stop hearing damage and believe me you don't want to put up with the S**T i do every day
My 2 cents, just sayin'
 

mlehto

New Member
Always wear them! Between shooting guns, and operating various tools, and now a motorcycle I want to make sure I protect my hearing!
 
I got custom molded ear plugs through a local audiologist. They are the musician style plugs with different filters you can swap depending on how much protection you want. I wear them every time I ride. My 2nd bike is a Honda Goldwing and when my wife rides on that with me she also wears a set of custom plugs. Really cuts down on wind noise but we can hear each other on the intercom great.
 

JonKerr

Senior Member
Elite Member



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